Tiger Woods: A Tragedy in Three Acts

Posted by:
mike
June 5th, 2017

By Ed Travis

@edtravisgolf

The first act was a display of awe-inspiring talent. Golf like we had never seen before. Dominance of fellow world class contestants, many times surpassing even Jack Nicklaus in his prime and giving new meaning to “lapping-the-field.”

The second act was brought to the public courtesy of a fire hydrant collision and a five-iron wielded by an irate wife and ended with hopeful words about returning to competition after having two discs fused in his back.

The curtain raised for the third act with a 3 AM arrest of an obviously incapacitated driver behind the wheel of a damaged Mercedes-Benz parked on the street.

And the third act is playing out now.

It makes no difference if you are a fan of Tiger Woods or not. Whether you care what happens or not.

Tiger’s family needs him back—sober and being a good Dad.

The game needs Tiger back in competition…the fans, the PGA Tour and most of all the golf business needs the publicity of him playing and winning to attract new players.

No one, least of all Tiger, knows how the third act will end.

It seems he may be addicted to a witch’s brew of painkillers and muscle relaxants so that has to be dealt with. If his most recent back surgery was as successful as he says and has fixed the years of pain he has endured, then what is he doing still taking the pills that caused the “unexpected reaction,” presumably the cause of the problem leading up to his traffic stop?

Looking at the entire situation let’s hope the third act finishes with a feel-good moment. Tiger free of drugs. Tiger healthy. Tiger being a loving father for his two children.Tiger competing, Tiger winning.

It’s now about the man inside Tiger taking control of his life and bringing down the third act curtain with an upbeat moment. So far it’s three acts of tragedy that have been hard to watch and even harder to understand.

Ed Travis is a national award-winning golf journalist and has had a lifelong love affair with the game. He has competed in tournament golf both as an amateur and as a senior professional. Although his competitive days are behind him, he still plays regularly and is a 2 handicap.